Maybe he’s getting jealous about all of the face time Coach Grantham is getting with the media these days (that’s a joke, people), but in any event, Stacey Searles Searels had a couple of comments for the Chattanooga Times Free Press about the hand he’s been dealt with regard to injuries.

Surprisingly, I didn’t find that he provided the most interesting quote of the article. That came from Clint Boling.

“I think towards the end of the year we just started building a lot of confidence,” said Clint Boling, who had starts at right tackle, right guard and left tackle. “At the beginning, I think some guys were unsure about what was going on. Moving Josh Davis into the starting lineup certainly helped, because he brought a lot of energy and some fresh legs, and once we got that momentum, we kept it going.”

The facts bear that out.

… Davis underwent left shoulder surgery in January 2009 and made his debut last season as the starting right tackle in the seventh game at Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs rushed for 173 yards, more than their previous two games combined, and rolled to a 34-10 win.

Georgia scored 27 or more points in every game but one from that point, with Boling and Davis as the tackles, Cordy Glenn and Chris Davis the guards and Ben Jones the center. The Bulldogs ended the regular season by stunning Georgia Tech behind Washaun Ealey’s 183 rushing yards and 166 by Caleb King.

That one game was the Kentucky Florida debacle. So, maybe Washaun Ealey’s confidence isn’t entirely misplaced when he says, “I think it’s a very big deal running the ball… Every great team runs the ball. We’re a major key to this team’s success, and for us to keep winning, me and Caleb are going to have to run the ball.”

Hmm… run-heavy offensive attack where the quarterback isn’t asked to carry the load, and a 3-4 defense run by a Nick Saban-disciple. Maybe, as David Hale infers, this could be a case of if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

… The success he and King enjoyed against Tech last year combined with the run-heavy offense employed by national champion Alabama provides ample evidence that the ground game blazes a clear path to victories.

I hope Searles puts his players at one position & leaves them there this year. Build a little continuity. Barring injuries we are 2 deep on the Offensive line & in my opinion, we could have an entire second Offensive team that could be competitive. OR, Maybe I am overly optomistic ?.

Searles is a throw-back to the old school coaches that I remember. It would be nice to have some continuity in the O line, but don’t bet on it, Searles isn’t. He has had to adjust lineups every year since he was at LSU so I imagine he expects to have to make adjustments this year. He will continue to cross train linemen because he EXPECTS injuries to happen. As Searles said, “that’s college football.” It is nice to have a Sturdivant waiting in the wings in case Boling goes down or has to be moved to guard again, I just hope they don’t rush Trinton and give him plenty of time to recover and lots of practice reps before he enters a game.

I AGREE. Hope we can reach a satisfactory medium because I have also heard that the longer an O Line plays together, the more confident thay are in each other and in the lines ability to handle any defensive situation. Stability breeds success.?.

Hey Senator, it’s not our fault the guy spells his name wrong. He is an Auburn man, whadddayou expect. Besiseds I have dx, dix, disws, ah hell, I mix things up.

Bloviation for the Dawgnation

Quote Of The Day

“It's definitely different not knowing exactly who it's gonna be, but in a way, I feel like that's good,” he said. “One of my old coaches from Valdosta told me that competition is one of the best coaches. And I feel like, as well as each one of those three guys is performing, they're not gonna do anything but make each other better.” -- Jay Rome, The Red & Black, 3/25/15